(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to soil preparation devices. More particularly, this invention relates to agricultural subsoil plowing implements capable of cutting and raising soil at depths exceeding one foot below the ground's surface for the purpose of loosening said soil. Those with ordinary skill in the art are farmers involved in deep tillage or subsoil plowing.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It has long been recognized as desirable to be able to break and loosen the soil from below the surface. Many devices have been invented that are designed to meet this goal. Generally, the limiting factor for these types of devices is the depth at which they may be positioned below the ground. At relatively shallow depths, the drag experienced overpowers the ability of the drafting tractor to pull the implement through the soil.
A plow is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 769,897 to GEDDES that includes a wear plate, a cutting blade, and a supporting plate taking the form of a laterally extending wing. GEDDES intended for his invention to be applied not only to turning plows, but also to listers, cotton plows, and a great variety of species of plows and similar earth engaging devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 774,324 to STROM discloses a plow having a point of generally triangular contour, a standard engaging the attaching arm projecting upwardly and rearwardly over the point, and a heel that supports a lateral cutting mechanism. Specifically, the GEDDES device is intended to be capable of cutting and raising the ground without encountering great resistances.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,047,310 to COHEA discloses a deep tillage subsoiler. The deep tillage subsoiler of COHEA includes flat side members that have a blade connected between them so that the blade is transverse to said side members and a direction of draft. The blade is inclined to horizontal so that as it is passed through the soil by the flat side members it raises and loosens the dirt above the blade.
A cultivator implement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,690 to RABUSE. RABUSE shows a cultivator implement having a modified sweep adapted to be mounted on a mobile vehicle for cultivating soil surrounding row crops in order to destroy weeds and loosen soil.
A soil cultivating implement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,276 to LINGER. The implement of LINGER is a tool that includes a blade with a lower inclined portion and an upper upright portion that are interconnected by an intermediate portion. The inclined portion of the implement is moved edgewise through the ground so as to lift soil lying above that inclined portion. The inclined portion of the implement lies at an acute angle to vertical.